The College Solutions Blog

September 27, 2011

When families look at financial aid packages they often assume that a school’s financial aid support will remain the same for four years. That, however, is a dangerous assumption to make. The financial support that some colleges and universities give students will shrink after their freshmen year. Bait and Switch? Why would this happen? I can’t speak for schools that...

September 24, 2011

I’ve been in New Orleans this week attending the annual conference of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. At the conference I’ve been doing short interviews with college experts whom I think you’ll enjoy hearing from. I’m going to start out today with an interview that I conducted with Robert Morse, who is the man behind US News &...

September 22, 2011

Last week US News & World Report unveiled its 2012 college rankings to the usual fanfare. What typically gets overlooked during the annual rankings season are the schools that aren’t media darlings. During last year’s ranking season, I devoted a post to these overlooked schools. I want to share what I wrote again because I think it is helpful to...

September 21, 2011

Are 529 plans only for younger children? Not by a long shot. Many parents with college-bound teenagers, however, assume that their days of contributing to a 529 plan is over. By this time, parents are beginning to drain their 529 plan. You could save a bundle in taxes, however, if you continue to contribute to a 529 savings plan —...

September 20, 2011

I received an email yesterday from a friend of mine whose son is a brilliant high school senior. She wanted to know what they should think about invitations her son has received to apply to colleges through VIP or priority applications. Here is her question: My son has received approximately 10+ email/print invitations from schools to complete their priority applications....

September 19, 2011

Parents always seem relieved when their children decide to major in something practical like business, which is the most popular major in America. While students can succeed in life regardless of their major, families often don’t take that argument seriously. I was thinking about this over the weekend when my husband and I were visiting our son, a sophomore at...

September 16, 2011

Since it’ SAT/ACT season, I wanted to run a guest college blog post by Robert Levine, who graduated from the University of Miami with a BA in Finance.  He is currently serving as an SAT tutor for ParliamentTutors in Miami, FL. FYI: If you missed my SAT post from yesterday, here it is: The Latest Lousy SAT Results Just how...

September 15, 2011

The College Board released its latest SAT results this week and the scores were underwhelming. The average SAT reading score reached its lowest point in nearly four decades. The combined reading, math and writing score of 1500 out of a possible 2400 was six points below 2010’s results and 18 points off 2006. If you’re wondering how your teenager compared...

September 14, 2011

Do you have to visit a college before you apply? It’s always better if you arrange a college tour and spend quality time at schools before finalizing your list, but financially it’s often not possible. There are things you can do, however, to help you assess whether a college would be a great match while at the same time letting...

September 13, 2011

As many of you know, I’m not a fan of US News and World Report’s college rankings even though I write a college blog for the magazine.  The methodology is flawed and the rankings sponsor does not try to measure what kind of education students receive at their schools. What I find even more troubling is the fact that  college...